The Tale of a Blue-Quilled Captain
by SonicPrime972
Summary: After discovering his grandparents are pirates that sail through another dimension, Sonic, and his friends are thrown into the adventure of a lifetime; fighting clockwork marines, hunting for lost treasure, you name it, they're doing it, all while sailing their ship through the majestic skies. Rated M for swearing and blood, which at sea, are givens. Please leave reviews and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Hey, guys, how ya doing? The name's Sonic the Hedgehog, but just call me Sonic. Now I'm pretty sure you know about my main story. Y'know, all that stuff from my games? Yeah, most of that is true back home, but this is a totally different story. The story of a sailor.

Now I'm sure you're wondering why a hydrophobe like me would be on a merchant ship sailing around some sort of chain of seriously weird places.

Well, it's pretty simple really; these boats sail through the air, not water. And before you ask, no, I'm not driving a blimp, I'm sailing some sort of magic frigate.

How did I wind up here, you ask? Well, it's kind of a long story, but it all goes back to my grandparents.

Grand-dad called himself Golden Dante, and he lived up to it. He had golden fur and a serious tan on all his exposed skin. His brown boots and gloves were kinda tattered, but he made up for it with his black socks, brown pants, white shirt and tan trenchcoat, not to mention his tan hat.

Of course, Grandma was another story. She called herself Merciful Faith, and she was the finest woman ever to sail the seas of Mobius. She was blue, just like me, only a lighter shade. She had brown pieces of cloth wrapped around her body as her top and skirt, and I have seen her without her top wearing some ragged bandages around her chest, so I can only imagine she does the same for her lower regions. She also wore white gloves and black boots.

And I have to say, I always loved her and Grandpa Dante like they were my parents.

They've always been sailors on Mobius, but it was only until recently that I found out they were pirates working against Eggman in the war. They had some really weird-looking sailors on their ship, and when I asked Grandpa about it, he told me they were actually from another dimension.

Yeah, at first, I didn't believe him either, but then he took me and some friends to some crazy whirlpool that lead to a world where ships sailed on clouds and pirates ruled the seas.

They had just given us each weapons that fitted our fighting styles when a huge ship with black sails drifted alongside and started shooting at us. Then they boarded and started killing everyone in sight, and taking some of the crew as hostages.

My team and I barely escaped with our necks, but not before Grandpa's navigator managed to get us some maps, star charts and some sort of stone and told us to head for some place called Mooshu.

We had no idea what he was talking about, but before Tails could ask, we were thrown into a lifeboat and cut us loose from the ship to drift.

We had some issues about who should lead, but soon enough, I was declared captain of the expedition and we sailed until we reached a large portal in the sea. Then the green stone I had started to glow and seemed to be dragging me towards the portal.

"Hmm," I said to the others. "Y'know, normally when this sort of thing happens and it's not the Chaos Emeralds doing it, I'd feel really weird, but for some reason, I feel totally normal." Then I saw a weird slot in the boat. I put the stone in and we were automatically sent careening into the warp hole and to some sort of a dimensional canal where stars floated around us in large clumps.

"Whoa." said Tails in awe.

"Pretty," said Amy. I was really confused about how we got here until I saw the stone glowing and pointing us towards the world that looked really Japanese on the back of a giant turtle or something like that.

"Well, as long as we can avenge Grandma and Grandpa, then I say Avante, guys," I said and we sailed out the whirlpool in the Japanese world just as we got caught in some freak storm.


	2. Chapter 2

Next morning, we all woke up on the beach and I was really weirded out.

"Boy, what is the deal with the ocean, huh?" I asked.

"Ugh. Seriously," said Tails. "Is everyone all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine," said Shadow. Then a bunch of weirdo cow samurai surrounded us and pointed swords at us. "'Fine' being a relative term, of course." We were bound and brought before the emperor.

"Why have you come to my kingdom?" he asked.

"Your Grace, please," said Amy, trying to get us off the hook. "We were attacked at sea by a ship with black sails." Once he heard this, he was shocked.

"The Armada? You have brought the wrath of those wretched clockworks upon us?" he asked. Amy nodded and the emperor turned to the guards. "Throw them to Unagi! It needs to eat."

"Wait-wait-wait-wait-wait-wait! You're gonna feed us to some giant monster?!" I asked. "You can't kill us! My grandfather told us to come here." The emperor seemed surprised and stopped the guards.

"What was his name?" he asked.

"Golden Dante the Hedgehog," I said. The emperor seemed to know Grandpa Dante as he had his guards release us.

"I take it the Armada struck him down?" he asked.

"And Grandma Faith, yeah," I replied. The emperor put his hoof on my shoulder and looked at me.

"I will have you trained. You will soon be the best ninja in the land," he said. I smiled and bowed at his kindness.

"Thank you, your Imperial Majesty," I said. He smiled and handed me a katana. Then he picked a throwing star up off his table.

"Training begins now!" he said and threw the star at me. I quickly knocked it away with the sword and made it stick in the ground. The emperor smiled at me.

"You truly are Golden Dante's son. Well, let's see how you handle being attacked from all sides," he said and snapped his fingers. Then a bunch of pig ninjas flipped out of the shadows, swords ready.

"Sheesh. And here I thought pigs were lousy ninjas," said Knuckles, cracking his spiked namesakes. This seemed to anger the ninjas as they flipped and attacked us, but we easily knocked them back. Then the emperor threw a bunch of shuriken at us.

"I got this." said Shadow and he whipped out the duel pistols Grandpa had given him before he fired a medley of electrically charged bullets at them all, knocking them to the ground.

"Impressive." said the emperor.

"You don't know the half of it," Shadow smirked. We trained for months until we were almost the best ninjas in all of Mooshu. We made our living traveling around the spiral and fighting and looting like Robin Hood. Y'know, stealing from the rich and corrupt, giving to the poor and needy, all that shpeal.

It was awesome, but deep down, the emperor must have known I was going to use my training to avenge my parents because he kept me in training all the way until we found ourselves on a job in Marleybone, a town inhabited by dogs that looked a lot like England.

"There's our target. An armada bunker," said Shadow. "If we're gonna get our hands on all that loot, we're gonna need a diversion."

"I say we just blow the spark powder inside." said Knuckles.

"And risk roasting all the gold inside till it's worthless? No thanks," said Amy. Then I saw a clockwork leaving the building on patrol.

"How 'bout we take down that guy?" I asked.

"I'm up for that," said Shadow as he pulled a rifle off his back. He quickly secured a silencer to the barrel and aimed at the guard. "Say ah, dirtbag." Then he pulled the trigger.

Once the bullet left the barrel, the Clockwork dropped like a fresh-caught fish on a crappy pole. Yeah, I know that's a weird metaphor, but I stand by it, damn it!

Anyways, when more guards came out to see their friend had dropped like said fish, the team and I slipped into their bunker, took out all the guards that got in our way, snagged every last coin and crown the Armada got their oily mitts on and smuggling it back to the ship our sensei had at the docks. But just as we were about to cast off, an armada guard shot the helmsman in the head.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" asked Knuckles.

"You stand accused of mass robbery, including from the armada. You are all under arrest." said the guard. Shadow shot the guard in the leg before he took the helm.

"You'll have to catch us first," he said and steered us out of the docks, straight into an Armada barricade. Just as the men boarded the ship and trained their guns on us, Amy said something really surprising.

"Parley!" she shouted. The guards were confused.

"Come again?" one said.

"Parley. I invoke the right of parley," she said, removing her mask. "According to the Code of the Brethren set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholemew, you have to take us to your captain."

"We know the code." said one of the guards, cocking his gun. Then Tails added into Amy's peace plea.

"If an adversary demands parley, you can do them no harm until it is complete," he said. One of the guards was angry and aimed his gun.

"To hell with those words." he said before another conked him in the head.

"They want to be taken to the captain!" he said. "And they'll go without a fuss, right?" We all agreed.

"We must honor the code," said Amy. We were all manacled and were brought aboard their ship.

"Quick thinking there, Amy," I told her.

"Thanks. I'm a quick study. And since pirates seem to run this world's skies, I knew they would uphold the code." she said. Then another guard came up to the ones holding us.

"I was unaware we were taking them prisoner." he said.

"The girl's invoked the right of parley with Captain Deacon." said one of the guards. Amy stepped forward in rage.

"I have come to..." she began but the larger guard slapped her to the dock.

"Amy!" I said and helped her up.

"You shall speak when spoken to." said the large one. Then a throwing knife flew through his hand and a smaller clockwork with a cane walked up.

"And you will not lay a hand on those under the protection of parley." he said.

"Aye sir." said the guard as he left to nurse his hand. Then the captain turned to me.

"Apologies, sir, for the lady's face. is she all right?" he asked.

"I'll live," said Amy as she held an ice pack to her cheek. then I spoke.

"Captain Deacon, we are here to negotiate the cessation of hostilities against me and my friends," I said. He looked a bit baffled.

"There were a lot of long words there, sir," he said. "We're mere clockworks. Now, what do you want?"

"I want you to release us and leave us alone from here on out," I said. Deacon smiled and the crew laughed a bit.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request." he said.

"Buh?" asked Knuckles.

"Means no." said Deacon.

"Oh." said Knuckles.

"As long as you're here, who are you?" asked Deacon.

"Sonic the Hedgehog. Your fleet killed my grandfather, Golden Dante." I said.

"I see," said Deacon. "Throw them in the brig."

"WHAT?! But what about our deal? You have to put us back on our ship. According to the code..." said Shadow

"First, the return to your ship was not part of our negotiations, nor our agreement, so I must do nothing. Second, you must be a pirate for the Pirates' Code to apply, and last time I checked, none of you are. And third, the Code is more what one would call guidelines than actual rules," said Deacon. "Welcome aboard the _Erebus_ , Mr. Hedgehog." Then guards grabbed us and threw us in a dingy cell in the brig.

"So what did that parley buy us? About three minutes?" asked Amy.

"We're losing our touch," I said, seeing Amy's cheek swelling a bit. "You alright, Amy?"

"I'm fine, Sonic." she said.

"Well, settle in. We'll probably be here a while," said Shadow. But Shadow was wrong. We would be leaving pretty soon. If not by my hand, then by someone else's.


	3. Chapter 3

The team had been sailing for a few weeks and we had finally reached the Skull Island Skyway. We've tried breaking out several times but we always failed. I was resting up on the cot while Tails and Knuckles were playing cards, Shadow was doing push-ups, and Amy was sewing something.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Our flag," she replied, and showed it to me, showing it to me to reveal it was red and white with a silver skull and crossed silver swords with red inlay. "Since we may be here awhile, and might be able to get out of here, we're gonna need this."

"Good call," I said. Then just before we made the turn to the Flotsam Skyway, we heard some weird noises and the ship started rocking side to side.

"Whoa, this is not good." said Knuckles, standing up.

"But it might be our ticket to escape," said Shadow. "I think I saw the guards put our weapons in that crate over there. Be ready to grab them once we get out of here." Then we heard voices.

"Get down. She's going to blow." said one followed by a small explosion. "It's some of these prisoners. Check the ones down there, monkey!"

"Monkey?" asked Knuckles.

"I'm on it." said another voice that sounded vaguely French. Then a small monkey ran up to our cell and poked his head in. He was wearing a weird French blue outfit with a red sash and a ton of medals.

"Are these the prisoners we're looking for?" he asked. Then his comrade ran up. He was a beefy old man with a white beard I could take a nap in if it got any bigger and a red jacket. He had a patch over his left eye and a hook for a left hand.

"Hmm. Hard to say. What're your names, lads?" he asked.

"This is Shadow, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and I'm Sonic the Hedgehog," I said.

"Grandson of Golden Dante the Hedgehog?" asked the clearly disabled sailor.

"Wait a sec. You knew Grandpa Dante?" I asked.

"Aye. The name's Boochbeard, and this is my first mate, Mr. Gandry." said the large one.

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember Grandpa mentioning you two." I said.

"I told you, they are the ones." said Gandry.

"Hmm. Maybe so. If ye are who ye say ye are, prove it." said Boochbeard. Shadow lowered his brow and looked at him accusingly.

"How so?" he asked.

"Well, we know you lost your grandparents. Mind tellin us how?" asked Boochbeard.

"Armada," I said and told them the whole story.

"Well, now let's get ya out of this confounded cell. There's piratin' to be done," said Boochbeard.

"I thought you'd never ask," said Shadow. Boochbeard tried to open the door but it would only open a crack.

"Ugh. The door. She's... urgh!.. jammed. The bulkhead's bent!" he said.

"Well, now what are we supposed to do?" asked Gandry. Then something exploded behind them and the smoke cleared to reveal a large hole in the wall.

"That works," I smiled. "We'll meet you guys on the other side!" The others and I quickly ran around the cell and grabbed their weapons. I had a pair of daggers, Shadow had his rifle, Amy had a spear, Tails had a blade and shield, and Knuckles had a large club. Then someone shouted from a nearby cell.

"You there. Come here, please," it said, and it sounded like a Mooshu soldier. Amy checked and saw it was a bull with white robes. "Help me escape and I will repay you with my services."

"Sonic?" she asked.

"Well, we may as well. The more, the merrier." I replied. Knuckles quickly grabbed the lever to open the door, but it wouldn't move.

"Crap. The door's jammed," he said.

"Time for Plan B, then," said Shadow and he whipped out his rifle. "Everyone stand back!" They all did and Shadow moved a powder barrel in front of the door and fired, blowing the door off its hinges. The bull quickly jumped through the blaze and looked at Amy.

"I thank you for saving me, ma'am. I am Kobe Yojimbo, Bull Ronin of Mooshu, and now my blade is yours," he said.

"You wouldn't happen to mean this blade, would you?" asked Tails, throwing him a large white katana in a bamboo scabbard which he easily caught.

"Indeed. If your captain will have me, I wish to join your crew," said Kobe.

"Welcome aboard, Yojimbo-san," I said.

"What's takin ya so long?" asked Boochbeard. "Let's get out of here now before we get blown to bits!"

"I'm up for that," I said. Quickly, he and his crew ran up the stairs until they were met by the same rather unfriendly face of Deacon.

"What's this? Boochbeard! Trying to steal my prize, are you?" he asked.

"Deacon!" said the burly captain.

"Spymaster of the Armada," said Gandry. "I think we're in trouble."

"Mechanical fiend!" shouted Kobe. "You shall rue the day you put me in chains!"

"I think not," said the clockwork. "The prisoners must not be allowed to escape. Take them!" He waved his cane, and then three more clockworks glided down on large wings with a blade and pistol in their hands.

"Battle Angels!" shouted Gandry. "The Armada's elite warriors."

"Indeed," said Deacon, his tone unsettlingly smug for a machine. "It is high time you buffoons learned just who you are trifling with."

"Trifle with this, oil can!" I growled as he and the others charged the robots. Soon enough, Kobe joined the fray and the Angels lay beaten and wrecked. I smiled at the ronin.

"Fine work, Kobe. You're full of surprises, aren't you?" he asked.

"Indeed... Captain," he replied.

"Not so fast," said Deacon. "Do you think you can defeat the might of the Armada?" Then he banged his cane on the deck and from it, five enormous clockworks came up each with a cannon on their backs.

"Wha... What are those?" asked Gandry.

"Surrender," said Deacon, the men aiming their cannons at them. "Don't make me destroy you!" Everyone backed away in fear except for Boochbeard, who just laughed.

"Don't bother," he said, pulling out a small blunderbuss. "LADS! FIRE ALL GUNS!" Then he fired his gun into the air, launching a flare. Then the cannons on his ship blasted the deck around the gunners, blowing them up.

"Not a bad crew ya got there, cap'n." I said.

"Aye, they're a hardy lot. That's for sure." said Boochbeard.

"It appears I underestimated you, sailor," said Deacon. "Enjoy your freedom... While it lasts." He held out his hand and a pistol dropped from the upper mast into it. Then he fired at a powder barrel, knocking everyone back. Everyone was okay, but the shockwave really messed around with Boochbeard's single eye.

"Whoa-ho! That blast nearly did me in! Ugh, I can barely see straight!" he said.

"Knuckles, Kobe, get him to the ship! Shadow, cover them!" I said.

"I've only got one shot so I'd better make it count." said Shadow, and he shot a powder barrel behind Deacon, knocking him to the deck.

"Now we're even," I shouted from the wheel of Boochbeard's ship. "Sayonara!" I quickly turned us away from the _Erebus_ and set sail as the ship sank to the depths. "Where to now, captain?"

"Set course for Skull Island Harbor! And make it quick, before more Armada ships find us!" shouted Boochbeard.

"Aye-aye, sir!" I shouted and immediately sailed for the large island as fast as the winds would allow us.


	4. Chapter 4

Soon, we'd reached safe harbor and Knuckles had tied us off. Boochbeard's men let us help ourselves to some of the loot the pirate had gathered over his illustrious career.

"You kids oughtta get yourselves some more appropriate clothes. There are some shops in the town above the harbor," the captain said. "Once you're done with that, seek out Captain Avery. He's an old friend of Dante's. He'll help you lie low."

"Thanks, Captain," I shouted as his ship, the _Grey Opal_ sailed away for places unknown. We walked up to the town and saw many different shops around town. A weapons vendor, a jewelers store, the list goes on and on.

"What do you guys say we deck ourselves out before we meet Avery?" I asked.

"Sounds good to me. Then maybe we'll be able to find out more about this world," said Shadow, and we all went into the clothing shop.

When we came out, I had donned something they called the Adventurer's Coat, a pair of boots called the Assassin's boots, and a hat called the Bandit's Tricorn.

Amy's outfit was simpler since she didn't buy a hat, and went for a Buccaneer's Vest and a pair of Boots of Strength. The funny thing was, we felt stronger with our outfits on than ever before. Then out of nowhere, an explosion rang out.

"Armada!" shouted Shadow and he pulled his rifle.

"No, wait! Look at the mountain!" Kobe shouted. We looked and saw what looked like flaming barrels flying from the large skull-shaped mountain.

"What the heck is going on up there?" asked Knuckles.

"I dunno, but I bet Avery does. Come on!" I shouted and we all ran up to the plaza where a large mansion stood at the top of it all. We quickly ran in and found a huge room full of antiques. Armor, flags, statues, bottled ships and... bones?

"Okay, that's kinda weird. Even for me," said Shadow.

"Yes well, those were gifts for Witchdoctors, so they always are unusual." said a voice. The team looked and saw an old man with emerald green clothes and hat with a rather festive feather.

"I take it you're Captain Avery," I asked.

"In the flesh. And you must be Sonic Maurice Hedgehog," he said as a cockatoo flew onto his shoulder. Everyone was shocked, myself most of all.

"Your middle name is Maurice? You never told us," said Amy.

"That's funny coming from you, Lynn," said Tails, making her blush. I didn't pay any attention to them, I was still mesmerized.

"How did you know my name?" I asked.

"Well, Boochbeard did say he's an old friend of your grandfather." said Knuckles.

"You mean Dante? Of course, I knew him. I heard he was captured, along with Faith. Finest sailors I've ever met." he said.

"Captured? Any idea where they're being held?" I asked. If Grandma and Grandpa were alive, I had to find them.

"Only one place is most likely. The center of the Clockwork Empire, Valencia. But clockworks swarm the place like no one's business," said Avery. "Which reminds me. You're on the run from them, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Actually, we are," said Knuckles. "We were hoping you would keep us hidden."

"Well, I run a pirate haven here, not a charity," said Avery. "If you want me to hide you, you'll have to work for it." Then the building shook as another powder barrel exploded close by, shattering a few of the windows.

"I'm guessing you want us to start by taking down whoever's firing those barrels at us?" asked Shadow.

"No, but you'll have to in order to do what I have in mind for you." said Avery, brushing himself off.

"Which would be?" I asked.

"Well, one of my more... willful crewmen, a Buccaneer named Fin Dorsal, stole a Jade Amulet from me. I need it back!" he said. Then another powder barrel exploded in the window, roasting some of Avery's treasures. "HEY! THESE ARE ANTIQUES!" he shouted out the window.

"Well, that explains a little bit, but what about the flaming barrels of death being flung at us?" I asked.

"Fin fled to Skull Mountain over the canal, and roused the Troggies in the jungle," said Avery, spitting out a cockatoo feather that somehow flew into his mouth. "Now they're bombarding us! Get my amulet back. Report to Chief Gunner Rigby at the West Bastion." Shadow and I thought for a minute.

"Not really sure I see the value in helping someone if he doesn't pay for our help." said Shadow.

"Yeah, me neither," I said. Avery smirked at an idea he had.

"If you're to be pirates, you'll need a ship." he said, smirking and interesting me.

"Go on," I said.

"Do this right, and I'll give you a ship. You have my word of honor. Do we have an accord?" he asked and extended his left hand, an action Kobe found a bit displeasing, but I didn't think much of it as he took his hand.

"That we do, Captain," I said. As we were leaving, Kobe told me not to trust Avery's word.

"Uh, why?" I asked.

"He shook to the deal with his left hand, and..."

"So he's left-handed. So what?" asked Shadow. Just then, a barrel landed straight in front of us, ready to blow. "HIT THE DECK!" I shouted and we jumped behind a marble statue just as the barrel blew up.

"Phew! That was way too close," said Knuckles. Quickly, we ran to the West Bastion and were welcomed by a mustachioed man with an eye-patch.

"Ahoy, there! Keep yer heads down, unless you're looking to get blown up!" he shouted. Just as he said that, a barrel flew over at us, but Shadow blasted it, blowing it up before it hit us. "Blasted Troggies, they've gone mad, they have!"

"Yeah, we noticed. That's why Avery sent us to help," said Tails, taking a rifle and firing it at the jungle.

"You wanna help? We need to stop this blasted bombardment. Go find Bonnie Anne!" shouted Rigby.

"All right. Where is she?" I asked.

"She went across the bridge to teach those savages a lesson. You'll do more good there," he replied. We walked to the bridge and saw it was incredibly long, high and rickety.

"Oh, I can't do that." said Amy, walking away.

"Wait, what? Why not?" I asked.

"I have vertigo. I can't do that. Plus, the fact that weirdos are shooting powder barrels at us." she replied, but just as she said that, a barrel flew towards her. Tails quickly knocked it into the canal before it hit her and exploded.

"Either come with us or be blown into little tiny pieces," he said. She quickly agreed and after about twenty minutes of dislodging Kobe's hooves from the gaps in the bridge planks and trying not to get blown up, we made it across a little on the crispy side, but otherwise unscathed. Just then, a bunch of blue frog-men jumped down from the trees, weapons at the ready and surrounded us.

"Something tells me these are the Troggies." said Amy.

"What was your first clue?" asked Shadow, cocking his rifle. But just before he could shoot, a blunderbuss rang out from behind the Troggies and they all fell. We looked and saw a fox-girl in a kilt with a large gun on her shoulder, and by some crazy coincidence, wearing the colors we had on our flag.

"You Bonnie Anne?" I asked.

"Aye. So who're you then?" she asked.


	5. Chapter 5

"Avery sent us here to back you guys up against the Troggies, Ms. Anne." I said.

"Good. Ye've come just in time!" she said as another barrel flew from the jungle toward the town. "That Fin, He's a wily one, he is. Riled up the Troggies till they were mad as badgers."

"Yeah, we noticed. How'd they get their hands on all that powder?" asked Tails.

"Slimy devils raided our camp last night - took half our powder-stores. Now they're flingin' it back at the town!" said Bonnie as more Troggies ran up. I quickly lept into action and killed them. "We're trying to fight back, but as you've no doubt noticed, we're outnumbered. Soften 'em up a bit, and I'll help ya find Fin. Report to Lieutenant Smollet once you're done." I saluted and we all ran into the jungle to find it crawling with Troggies.

Then one of them spotted us and the whole army started barreling down on us from all directions.

"All right, boys. It's just like the Emperor's training." I said and we raced into a battle, hacking and slashing our way through the Troggies. One almost jumped Amy, but Shadow shot it, knocking it away. Then Kobe grabbed a vine and started slashing at Troggies as he swung. Then I saw a gilded cutlass and pistol near some bones not far from the fight.

"Screw these!" I said throwing my daggers at two troggies, stabbing them before I dove for this new Gilded Kit. It worked a lot better than the daggers Grandpa gave me, mostly since it reminded me of the katana the Emperor gave me. Soon enough, we had dealt with plenty of the Troggies and stolen the gold they were carrying when they died.

"That should make the charge a little easier for the men," said Amy, sheathing her spear.

"Cmon. Let's get back to the camp before the reinforcments get here." I said, and we quickly ran back to the Outpost and were met by a smart-looking sailor.

"Lieutenant. The Troggies have been dealt with." I saluted.

"Smartly done, sailor! Now we'll show these croaking fiends the error of their ways." he replied. Then Bonnie walked up.

"Well done indeed. Ye're good to have 'round in a fight. I said I'd help ya find Fin, an' I'm a girl o' me word." she said.

"All right. Do you have a map that'll lead us to him?" asked Knuckles.

"I got a better idea," she said turning to me. "Do ye have room for another, captain?"

"Indeed I do. Welcome aboard." I said, shaking her hand. Then Smollet spoke up.

"You're here for Fin?" he asked.

"Aye. Avery sent us to take care of him." said Tails.

"There'll be time for that soon enough. Skull Island's threatened, lads. And it's up to us to save it." he said.

"What do we need to do?" I asked, taking charge.

"The Troggies are using three great slingshots to hurl flaming kegs at the west bastion. The bombarment's wearing down the town's defenses." he said.

"Can't your men just wreck them with their cannons?" asked Shadow, whose obvious first instinct with this sort of thing is obviously to blow stuff up.

"They could, but the furthest slingshot's out of range," said Smollet. "Not only that, but the gunners can't see the other two through all this jungle."

"So you want us to go take them out with a personal touch." said Bonnie. Smollet nodded.

"Got to the third slingshot and set off the powder kegs they're flinging to destroy it," he said and handed me a map. "Then scout out and mark the last two on this map. You'll have to get pretty close to mark them, so tread catiously. Report back to me when you're done. Good hunting!"

"Thank you, sir." I saluted and we set out through the jungle. It was dense, sweaty, and the mosquitos were murder, but we managed to make it to the furthest slingshot.

"Shadow, you're on." I said. Shadow nodded and snuck in. When he came back, he had snagged a barrel and left a trail, leading to us. Then he took his unloaded pistol and pulled the trigger close to the powder trail, lighting it.

"Fire in the hole." he said and we all plugged our ears. Then the barrels blew up, killing the Troggies manning the slinger, and blowing it up.

"Whoo! Nice work, Shadz." I said.

"What can I say? I love blowing stuff up," he replied. And right now, I couldn't agree more. "Cmon. We gotta mark the last two." Soon enough, the last two slingshots were marked, but I decided to have a little extra fun, so we kicked the slingers off the cliff and stole most of their ammo. We only left them enough for three vollys and after that, it's gonna be lambs to the slaughter. Or frogs, as the case my be. Anyway, after all that, we reported to Smollet and handed him the map we made.

"Well done, captain!" he said. "Now we'll answer their slingshots with cannons."

"So how bout my job?" I asked.

"Well, now that the Troggy artillery is out of commission, we can look to getting Avery his bauble back." said Smollet.

"Any idea where Fin is?" asked Knuckles. Smollet pointed into the jungle.

"He fled up the trail," he said. "I'd wager he's hiding in Skull Cave inside the mountain. I sent two of our best scouts, Livsey and Shepherd, up the trail to find him, but they've been gone for hours."

"Think they found him?" asked Knuckles.

"Doubt it. If they had, they'd have been back with him long before you blighters got here." said Bonnie.

"I need you to go see if the Troggies caught them. If they're alive, they'll know where to find Fin." said Smollet. Quickly, we left and snuck into the Troggy camp to see a small frog in a cage.

"Oi! You there! Help!" he shouted.

"That's Livsey. Cmon." said Bonnie and we ran over to the cage.

"Oh, thank heaven you're here, Bonnie! You've gotta get me out of here, and right quick, before those Troggies come back!" he said. Knuckles quickly tried to open the cage, but it wouldn't budge.

"This cage ain't opening, Sonic." he said.

"And for good reason. It's locked," said Tails. He tried to pick the lock with a dagger, but it broke in his hand. "Well, that's disappointing."

"One of the Shamen must have the key." said Livsey. Then Shadow came in with a struggling Troggy in crazy, leafy and bony clothes held back by his gun.

"You mean this guy?" he asked. "He's got it. Grab it off him now!"

"Can't. Mojo sheild," said Tails after he tried. "It won't go down unless he wills it to or..." Then Shadow broke his neck, dropping the shield. "Yeah. Or that." I quickly grabbed the key and unlocked the cage, springing the small frog.

"Thank you, captain! I thought I'd never get out of there." he said.

"Where's Fin?" I asked.

"Up the trail, but he ain't alone. There's a whole gang of sharks up there. Cutthroats, by the look of 'em." he replied. Anne growled a bit.

"Cutthroats... Vile buggers... They'd sell their own mums out for a single coin, let alone a thousand crowns." she said.

"Aye," said Livsey. "They've set up camp in front of the cave. They're up to something. Shepherd and I nearly found out what, but the sharks found us and split us up."

"Did you see Fin?" I asked.

"No, but he has to be close. Tell ya what. You attack the sharks in their camp, and I'll sneak in and see what I can find," said Livsey. "Once I'm done, I'll hide in the mouth of the cave. We'll meet up there."

"Understood." I said and led my crew up to the cave to find a huge camp full of sharks in front of the mountain.

"This must be the Skull Cave. The perfect place to find a thief." said Kobe.

"And there are the Cutthroats," said Bonnie, cocking her rifle. "Let's go pick a fight."

"Hold up. I've got a better idea." I said and I pulled a whoopie-cushion out of my jacket.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Shadow.

"Well, I'll tell ya. You know when you're sitting with someone, ya hear a fart and you can't agree who did it, so you kick each other's asses?" I asked as I tied a rock to the now inflated cushion with a length of vine.

"Of course. I've won more than one of those debates." Knuckles replied.

"Well, this trick uses that same basic premise, except no one did it and they kick each other's asses anyway." I said.

"You're stupid. I'm down." said Knuckles.

"All right then," I said and handed him the cushion. "Huck it between those guys and watch the hilarity unfold."

"Do I get to shot the winner?" asked Shadow.

"Yes." I said.

"Thank you so much." he said. Knuckles hucked the cushion and it landed straight between two of the cutthroats.

"Oh come on." said one as the other was cracking up.

"Are you serious?" he chuckled. "That was totally you."

"You what? Don't you accuse me." said the first one.

"Cmon, just admit it." said the scond.

"It wasn't me!" shouted the first and he takled the other one into the fire, spilling the stew they were cooking onto the others who soon joined the fray with large swords and their bare hands... or fins, I honestly don't know what those things are. Anyway, it was so hilarious, we could barely contain our laughter.

Soon enough, almost everyone was down except the victor who stood, bruised and bloodied, among his fallen friends.

"Can I plug him yet?" asked Shadow.

"Plug away." I said. Shadow quickly pulled the trigger and shot the last guy in the back of the head, dropping him like a fly. We walked out into the remains of the fray and when we saw how some of them went down, we burst out laughing like hyenas.

"Can you believe they fell for that?!" asked Tails.

"That was hilarious!" said Amy.

"Oh, please tell me someone got a slideshow's worth of pictures of that! If we showed it to Avery, I don't think he could handle it." I said.

"I got it all, Sonic." said Shadow, holding up a camera. After that, we met with Livsey near the entrance to the cave.

"Well done, Sonic!" he said when he met up with us. "During your hilarious diversion, I found this note. Here, listen to this: 'Our buyer won't be here for a while. I'll be in the temple. When the buyer showes, bring him inside. The entrance to the temple is inside the Skull Cave'."

"So Fin's in the cave." said Shadow.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie to you boys. Some of us may not come back from this, so if any of you want out of this deal, you'd better get going now." I said.

"We've come too far to turn back now. Into the cave!" said Kobe.

"Kobe's right, Sonic," said Amy. "We're with you, one-hundred percent." I smiled at my friends.

"Thanks guys," I said. "I knew I could count on you. Now let's go kick some shark-tail!" We all cheered and walked into the cavern. Then I saw that Livsey was leaving.

"Hey, don't you want a piece of Fin too, Ensign?" I asked.

"Naw, I gotta report back to the lieutenant. If ya see Sergant Shepherd in there, tell 'im I sent ya." he said.

"Will do," I said, turning to the team. "Now let's go kick some ass!" We yelled a fierce battle-cry and I lead the charge into the cave.


	6. Chapter 6

Once we were in the cave, I could see… practically nothing. The entrance to the cave was practically empty. Then Kobe's sharp eyes noticed something at the top of a tall plinth.

"Look up there – a chest!" he said. "You should open it!" I looked and saw he was right. A large wooden chest was sitting at the top of the plinth.

"Open it, I indeed shall," I said and zipped up top. I slowly opened it, and once it was open, I half-expected something to jump out of it and sucker-punch me, but nothing did. I looked in and saw a bronze cutlass, a two-barreled rifle, and a black suit that had an old tag on it, saying it was called the Brawler's Pauldrons. And they looked suited for a girl.

"Hey, guys heads up!" I shouted down to the team and threw the rifle to Shadow and the other things to Amy. Amy quickly changed into the suit and felt even more strong.

"Not bad. I might wanna change the color scheme, though," she said.

"Nice gun," said Shadow. Then I jumped off the plinth and walked through the waterfall, straight into a spider-web of vines… and a few actual spider-webs.

"Blech! Ugh! Gross!" I shouted washing the webs off in the waterfall. Then I looked back at the vines. "I think I found our way through to Fin! Looks like we'll have to cut through, though." Quickly, Shadow and Bonnie pulled out hunting knives and we all cut through the vines in no time. Then Shadow noticed something as we walked through the tunnels that seemed to be filled with a few inches of water.

"Hey guys, look," he said, pointing to an old tunnel. "I think this tunnel leads back to the fort."

"Good. Nice to know we've got bolt-holes down here." I said when I suddenly tripped on a weed and came face to face with a tiny green crocodile.

"AAH! What the hell is that?!" I asked and shot it with my pistol.

"Crockogator," said Bonnie. "These bastards live here in bigger groups than bees." Then Amy saw the hallway was full of the crocs.

"We'd better stick to the walls. I don't want to get eaten alive," she said.

"Good call," I said and we shimmied along the walls. Then we found some more Cutthroats in the cave. Quickly the others and I used some of our ninja skills to slip past them undetected and slit all their throats. Then we emerged from the shadows and flipped over to a large hallway full of water.

"Think we can make it?" I asked.

"Not in a million years," said Bonnie. "The water's too deep and too rough."

"She is right. We must find another way," said Kobe. Then we heard a voice from the corner.

"You there! Come here, quick!" it said. We looked and saw a dog in the corner dressed in ragged clothes with a large cutlass in hand.

"Shepherd. Glad to see ye're all right," said Bonnie.

"You're Shepherd?" asked Shadow.

"Aye. What're you doin' down here?" he asked.

"Livsey sent us to take down Fin." said Tails.

"Very good," said Shepherd. "When Livsey and I split up, I made me way in here. I've been trapped here for hours, watching… and listening."

"Then you must know where we can find Fin," I said.

"Aye. He's across the way there, in the Throne Room," he said, pointing to the partly submerged door. "Bonnie's right. The water's too rough to swim."

"Then how do we get across?" asked Amy.

"There's a shrine on the other end of the tunnels," said Shepherd. "Press the keystones on the three statues there and the water will drain, but watch your backs. The Troggies are holed up in the shrine, and they'll do everything in their power to stop you,"

"Not a problem," I said. "We can be very persuasive. Can't we fellas?"

"Aye." said everyone.

"But first, you'll need to get into the shrine. It's locked up tight. I overheard some of the sharks talkin'. Seems one of them found a key." said Shepherd.

"All right. We'll just find the guy with the key and 'persuade' him to let us borrow it. Done deal." said Knuckles.

"I think I got eyes on the guy we need," said Shadow, leveling his new rifle at one of the sharks. Quickly, Knuckles used his club to whip up a smokescreen. What? Oh yeah, turns out Knuckles' club lets him manipulate this weird power called "mojo". Witchdoctor stuff. I don't get it either. Anyway, once the smokescreen was up, Shadow let the lead fly. Then I quickly ran up and snagged the stone key off him.

"You always have been lucky with guns, Shadow," said Amy. Shadow smirked and took the key from me. Suddenly, Shepherd produced a map of the old cavern.

"While I was stuck here, I used my natural senses to draw up this map of the place," he said pointing to one side. "The shrine's over here on the far side, guarded by more Troggies than ye've ever seen."

"We can handle it," I said. But I was eating my words once we got close to the doors to the shrine and were getting pelted with Troggy arrows and poison darts. "Okay, in retrospect, charging in guns blazing might not have been the best idea."

"Ya think?" asked Bonnie, shooting down some of the gunners.

"I think I have a better idea," I said.

"Oh yeah, cause your last one went so well," said Knuckles.

"Hear me out here," I said. "Shadow, you got any grenades on ya?"

"As it so happens, the coat came with a belt of them," he said, pulling out a small iron shell that looked like those old-fashioned black powder bombs you find in cartoons.

"Good," I said. "Now light 'er up and let 'em have it."

"Aye-aye, sir," said Shadow as he struck a match off the rough stone wall and lit the fuse. "Fire in the hole!" he shouted as he threw it near the Troggies, blowing them all up. Then I ran in with my sword and gun taking down all the stragglers who the grenade missed.

"Clear," I said and the others ran up. Shadow tried the key and the large stone door started opening. Quickly, the gunners reloaded their weapons and the others and I readied our blades. Then we made it inside to see a ton of Troggies, one of them wearing regal seeming robes.

"That must be the chief. Take him down, the whole tribe is dead in the water," said Shadow.

"Eep! Opp! Ork! Ah-ah!" croaked the Troggy. I was just confused.

"Did anyone catch that?" I asked. Everyone shook their heads. "All right, let's just kick ass!"

"Look, my friend," said Kobe. "There are the statues." I looked and saw three large statues around a huge central plug in the middle of the room. "Activate them quickly!"

"You heard the bull, boys! Disregard the Troggies! Hit the keystones!" I shouted and we all split up. Quickly, I ran over to the first one, but a few Troggies got in my way. I just put my pistol to the head of one and shot part of his brain out into the switch, lowering the plug into the floor.

"One down, two to go!" I called. Shadow had taken up position behind some rocks and was using them as cover from the spears and arrows. He pulled the flint back and fired straight into the next one, lowering the plug even more.

Then I heard Amy scream in pain. I looked over and saw her leaning against a rock nursing a spear that got stuck in her back. But she was still slashing away at the Troggies and even threw one of them at the last keystone, dropping the plug. Then water flooded in from all over the temple.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!" I shouted and we all held onto the status and boulders for dear life. Soon the temple was completely dry. The Troggies tried to sustain themselves by rolling in the water on the ground, but without all that much left, there wasn't enough to go around, so they all soon fell over dead. Then I ran over to Amy.

"Are you alright?" I asked. She winced in pain from the spear but gave me a small nod. Quickly, I pulled her outside.

"Okay Amy, I'm gonna try and cover the wound, but I can't do it while you have your jacket on, so as much as it pains me to tell you this, I'm gonna need you to take it off." I could tell Amy was blushing as I said that, and I didn't blame her. So was I.

Even more so when she actually started to take off her jacket, but I stopped when I saw her bright pink fur stained crimson by her blood. The spear had embedded itself right below her left shoulder blade, and it wasn't pretty.

"Oh jeez. All right, hold still Amy," I said and motioned Shadow forward. "This won't kill you, but it ain't exactly gonna tickle either." Shadow firmly gripped the spear with both hands and quickly yanked it out of her back.

"AAAHH!" she cried in pain as the wound started bleeding more. Quickly, I pulled out some bandages and natural antibiotics the Emperor had given me for just this purpose. I quickly wrapped the bandages around her body, covering the wound. And I'd swear my hand brushed by her boob on one of the runs around, but I decided not to say anything. Anyway, once I was done, Amy put her clothes back on.

"How bad was it?" she asked.

"Well, I'm sure it felt worse than it looked, but the good news is those herbs the emperor gave me should help," I told her. "But just to help dull the pain, how about after all this is done, we hit the bar near the docks and get some drinks? My treat."

"Sounds good to me." said Shadow.

"Plus, you said you wanted your jacket died a different color," said Knuckles, holding up her coat, partially stained red by her blood. Amy growled at him as she snagged her jacket back and put it back on.

"All right, enough screwing around," said Tails. "If I'm right, then the water at the throne room entrance is low enough for us to make it through."


End file.
